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Operetta by Imre Kálmán “Die Zirkusprinzessin” back on stage after 50 years break

13.12.2014 / Ülla Veerg

The 3 of January will see the premiere of operetta by Imre Kálmán “Die Zirkusprinzessin” at the Estonian National Opera. Stage director of the production is Thomas Mittmann and the designer Gilberto Giardini, both from Germany. The conductors will be Lauri Sirp, Jüri Alperten and Kaspar Mänd.

Imre Kálmán ranks next to Franz Lehár as one of the leading representatives of operetta. The roots of the phenomenal originality of his melodies lie in his love of Hungarian gypsy music and his natural affinity for the Viennese waltz tradition, which characterise such successes as the operettas “Die Csárdásfürstin“ (1915), “Gräfin Mariza” (1924) and “Die Zirkusprinzessin” (1926).

Stage director Thomas Mittmann: ““Die Zirkusprinzessin” is a masterpiece of the Silver Era of the operetta. It became one of Kálmán’s most performed works that was also immensely successful on Broadway. The skilfully-crafted, colourful orchestral score and an engaging story line give you everything one needs for a relaxing evening. The music ranges from a fast polka to a slow waltz, showing a variety of emotions – love, hate, pride, vanity, intrigue, confusion and misunderstanding, but in the end… there is conciliation.”

The plot revolves around a romantic intrigue mixed with circus sequences. The mysterious Mister X, a dashing circus performer, is hired by a disappointed suitor of Princess Fedora Palinska to pose as a nobleman and marry her. Through exiting plot twists, it is revealed that Mister X is in fact a nobleman, the disinherited nephew of a deceased prince and the operetta reaches a happy end!